Cannon Mountain to open White Friday

It might be Black Friday for some, but Nov. 29 will be a big White Friday for skiers and riders.

The state-owned and operated ski area in Franconia Notch begins its 2014 season on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving with what its spokesman considers "one of our strongest openings in recent history."

Greg Keeler said that's based on how much terrain they expect to offer on opening day compared to past years.

Guns were blasting on two of the front five trails, Monday in the perfect snowmaking weather.

It was about 14 degrees.

Keeler said the strong snowmaking will mean trails such as Gary's and Rocket on the front plus Mickey's Margin, Gremlin, Lower Cannon, part of Tossup and potentially Brookside will open.

He said the mountain directed a half million dollars in snowmaking upgrades towards "the trails we focus on in the early season. We put new high efficiency guns on the main routes like Lower Cannon and Gremlin plus on much of the Front 5. That new technology has allowed us to make more snow when temps are not ideal and even more when they are," he said.